Save, Destroy, Save
by redvelvetcupcakes54
Summary: Sakura has been through the hardship of watching loved ones die. She's just trying to cope and get through it. Her friends are there every step of the way, but Sakura isn't sure if it's enough! Will she make it through on her  sasusaku eventually kibasaku
1. Prologue

When I was 11, I saw my family die. Only my immediate family. But the others, they brought pictures of the corpses.

I was tied up, I couldn't break free from the ropes. I was screaming. They killed my mother. Then my father. And then my little baby sister.

"AKEMI!" I shrieked. I was thrashing around, trying to get to my baby sister. She was crying. My little baby sister was crying. She was only 7 months old. She didn't deserve to die.

Then they sliced her in 2.

Right down the middle.

And she stopped crying.

I screamed again, and I cried. How could no one hear me? I heard the men laughing. They put the pictures on the table, and left my dead family on the floor. And left me, tied up and alone, to die.

I was found 2 days later, dehydrated and starving, by my best friend, Ino Yamanaka. It's been 4 years, I am now 15. The hokage himself took me in, since I had no other family in the world at all. He has since died. But his replacement, a woman named Tsunade, demanded I stay with her. She is a medical prodigy, and has been teaching me what she knows.

Sometimes I wish I had died. I think, maybe death would have been easier. I would have been with my family. If not in heaven, then in the ground. We would have been close.

But I'm choosing not to dwell on that anymore. I'm a sophomore in high school now, and I still go to regular therapy sessions. There's not much anyone can do about it though. It's what happened. So this is my story. It's not a fun one, but I need to share it with someone.

My name is Sakura Haruno.

This is how love saved me, destroyed me, and saved me again.

So this is just a prologue type thing. Hopefully the story will turn out the way I'm hoping for. R&R please? Any and all criticism is welcome!

Love,

Me!


	2. Chapter 1

**Beep Beep Beep Beep**

My eyes fluttered open adjusting to the light. September 19th. First day of sophomore year. I have to get up.

So I got up.

There's one thing about myself I consider special. And that is, that my hair is a shocking shade of BRIGHT PINK. It's why my name is Sakura. Cherry blossoms.

I showered, and brushed my teeth, before brushing through my shoulder length hair. I put it in 2 French braids. I was standing in my bright green towel in front of my closet, when my phone rang, playing Teenage Dream by Katy Perry.

"Hello?" I answered.

"It's Tenten. Want a ride to school today? I'm taking Ino and Hinata too."

"Yeah sure." We said our goodbyes and hung up. Now to pick out my clothes.

I settled on a pale yellow summer dress, with black converses. I'd never worn much make up, so I applied some light eyeliner, and I was good to go.

I was fine.

I ate my cereal one cheerio at a time, then drank all the milk in my bowl. I checked to make sure I had everything, until I heard the honk of Tenten's car outside, I was out the door.

Tsunade wasn't a mother figure by any means. She wasn't there to hold me when I was upset, or kiss me goodnight. She just wasn't. But it was understandable. I wasn't her child to love. But she supported me. She did love me, it was in the little reassurances she gave me when I saw her. The way she'd squeeze may arm, or pat my shoulder as she walked by. It was that kind of stuff. And it was the only kind of love I wanted for a long time. Just the friend kind. Even a hug was pushing it sometimes.

All I wanted for the longest time, was my mother to kiss me goodnight, or my father to say, "Good job, champ!" as he often did, or my little sister, Akemi, to smile and giggle the way babies always seemed to do. It was all I wanted.

I'll try to make the next chapter longer. Just pretty please let me know what you think!

I'll give you a cookie. :D


	3. Author's Note

So, since no one is reviewing this story, I'm assuming no one is reading it. If you are reading this, please let me know!


	4. Chapter 2

To be honest, I'm really very smart. But I hate school. Absolutely hate it. I get that we have to learn and everything, I really understand. But can't we do it on our own time? And why does it have to be so freakin' early? Ugh. But I put on a happy face as me, Tenten, Hinata, and Ino all drove to school that morning.

Ino, as usual, looked freakin' gorgeous. She always did. She had that beauty that some girls could get without even trying. She had her beautiful long, platinum blonde hair, and her ice blue eyes. She was perfect. Something I could never achieve even if I tried forever.

Hinata was stunning, as always. She had a gentle beauty to her, with her soft, lilac, eyes. Her midnight blue hair that always seemed to fall perfectly down her back. She had that perfect, pale, porcelain skin that models seemed to crave. I could never be her kind of perfect either.

Tenten was a whole different kind of beauty. She had a plain sort of beauty. She was still a kind of perfect I could never achieve, but it was different. She was sort of a tomboy, and her time in the sun gave her sort of an uneven tan. But it didn't take anything away from her features. She didn't flaunt anything, she always kept her brown hair in 2 buns, and her brown eyes were the color of milk chocolate.

I on the other hand, am not beautiful. Some people called me exotic with my pink hair, but I just found it weird. My green eyes clashed with my pink hair, and I'm not the same sort of beautiful pale that Ino and Hinata are. I look sort of sickly, or as if I haven't slept enough.

I shifted my bag on my shoulder, and hurried to keep up with Ino, who was, as always, in a hurry.

"Come, my lovelies. We are all looking fabulous, and it's time for a new year at this extravagant learning facility!" Ino shouted flamboyantly.

"That's the spirit, Ino!" said our ever youthful, Gai- Sensei. He was an odd one. He always wore a green jumpsuit, with an awful bowl haircut, and INSANELY bushy eyebrows. "Let's all head into the new school year with a youthful spirit!"

"Sensei! You're being weird again!" Tenten complained.

"Tenten!" A boy named Lee gasped. He had come up behind Gai-Sensei. Okay, Lee is weird. He's like a freakin' mini me of Gai-Sensei. He like worships him. "How dare you insult Gai-Sensei in such a manner!"

"Don't worry, Lee. Tenten is probably just tired! Now I have to get to the gym and prepare for first period! Have a great day, kids!" Gai-Sensei shouted as he jogged away with Lee on his tail.

"..Those guys are so weird.." Ino said with a smile.

"I-Ino-Chan...don't be mean! They're j-just a little different!" Hinata said.

"Yeah Ino-Pig, you have no room to judge anyway!" I retorted with a grin.

"Forehead, don't push it!" Ino shouted, a bit angered at me calling her by that particular nick-name. I stuck my tongue out at her, and then realized I had not checked my schedule, so I had no clue where I was going.

"Hold on guys, I have no clue what my first class is. Let me check my schedule real quick." I said, reaching into my bag.

**1st period - American Literature - Kakashi-Sensei**

**2nd Period - Drawing 2 -Kurenai-Sensei**

**3rd Period - Gym - Gai-Sensei**

**4th Period - Calculus - Iruka-Sensei**

**5th Period - Effective Writing - Jiraiya-Sensei**

**6th Period - American Government - Orochimaru-Sensei**

**7th Period - Anatomy and Physiology - Shizune-Sensei**

"Let me see, Forehead." Ino said, grabbing my schedule. She scanned it for a moment before saying, "You have American Literature with Tenten, Drawing with me, Calculus and effective writing with Hinata, American Government with Tenten, and Anatomy and Physiology with me." She grinned broadly and handed me back my schedule, and I returned her smile, almost wholeheartedly.

"Kay, Sakura-Chan, let's head to our lockers and then to class! Who do we have?" Tenten asked.

"Kakashi-Sensei…" I groaned.

"Crap, really? He's always late!" Tenten said, miming my facial expression. I nodded, and turned around to head to class, bumping into a kid with hair I can only describe as looking like a chicken-butt.

"Shit! I'm so sorry!" I said, bending down to help him pick up the books I'd caused him to drop. "I'm sorry!" I said again, handing him his books.

"Hn, don't worry about it. Accidents happen." he said in a monotone voice. I still gave him an apologetic smile as I followed Tenten to our class.

"Jeez, Sak. You nearly plowed that guy over." Tenten said when we arrived to our class.

"It was an accident! I didn't mean to." I said defensively.

"You're lucky you're cute. He looked mad at first." Tenten laughed. I smiled, and sat in the desk next to her.

"Whatever, if you say so Ten-Chan." I replied.

"You are lucky you're cute, Klutz." a deep voice behind me replied. I could feel my face turning red as I turned around to see the guy I'd run into.

"Oh, God, um, hi. S-sorry about earlier." I stuttered, still embarrassed.

"Hn, I told you, don't worry about it." he said. I smiled at him, and turned back to face Tenten. "Hey, Klutz. Name?"

"Haruno Sakura." I said turning back to him. "Gomen, I forget my manners sometimes."

"It's fine." he let out a dark chuckle. "Uchiha Sasuke."

"Pleasure to meet you Uchiha-San. Hopefully I don't run you over again next time I see you." I said good naturedly.

"I hope so too." and with that reply, I turned back to Tenten.

I parted ways with Tenten about halfway to my next class. I made my way through the sea of people, greeting friends I hadn't seen much over the summer, and getting an occasional "hello" from a teacher. To be honest, nothing really happens for the rest of the day. I attended all my classes, faked a laugh or a smile when expected, and had to bring home a bunch of papers for my guardian to sign. Hinata invited me to her house for dinner, but I said no, claiming I had chores, and was very tired.

As I was about to get into Tenten's car, I heard a familiar voice shouting my name. "Sakura-Chan!" a boy with blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes shouted. He hugged me picking me up off the ground and spinning me around.

"Hi, Naruto-Kun." I giggled.

"Can I drive you home? I just got back from my mission with Pervy Sage yesterday, I didn't get a chance to see you!"

"I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?" I said, turning to the girls.

"Kay, see you tomorrow!" Ino said, the other girls offered a friendly wave, as I walked off to Naruto's car. Naruto has been my best guy friend for as long as I can remember. He's an orphan too, so he knows how it feels for me to be alone. I think that's why we've grown so much closer lately. On an unrelated note, Hinata is completely in love with him. She's just too shy to say anything.

You're probably wondering why Naruto was on a mission. I, and all my friends, are ninjas. We train a lot, and me and Naruto were on the same 3 man squad as genin, along with Sai. Sai's kind of an asshole, but he's cool once you get to know him. He just takes some getting used to. We still get assigned together a lot, because we work well together. Naruto was on that mission with Jiraiya-Sensei, who he called Pervy Sage, all summer.

I was happy he was learning a lot, but at the same time, I'd missed him so much. So I was happy to be getting into his car at that moment, and spending some time with him. After he got behind the wheel, he launched into his story.

Okay, so I'd really like to thank NalSweetheart! You inspired me to keep this story going! So thanks a lot! I'm kind of busy right now cuz both of my parents are in the hospital, and blah blah, but I'm going to try to update regularly! Review please! All ideas and criticism are welcome, and will be taken into consideration. :3

Love,

Juliaaaaaaaa


	5. Chapter 3

"God, I wish you could have come with me, Sakura-Chan. Pervy Sage taught me so much. He taught me an awesome new jutsu, I can't wait to show you!" Naruto had been chattering excitedly, but now he looked dreamily at the road ahead of him.

"I bet I would have loved it, Naruto-Kun. When can you show me your 'awesome new jutsu?'" I questioned.

"Next time we go to the training field, I'll show you, okay?" he said, beaming with pride.

"Sounds like a plan." I said, smiling as we pulled into my driveway. "I'll see you later, text me, okay?" I said, getting out of the car.

"Kay, Sakura-Chan. Love you."

"Love you." I replied.

"Tsunade-Sama! I'm home!" I shouted.

"Hello, Sakura. I'm loaded with paperwork tonight, so is pizza alright for dinner?" Tsunade said, entering the living room.

"That's fine, thanks." I replied.

"Remember, you have therapy after school tomorrow. No skipping out."

"Right…I'll be there, promise." I sighed. I skipped my therapy sometimes. Talking about the memories hurt, and I didn't like it.

"I'll leave the pizza money on the coffee table. See you later." Tsunade said, patting my arm as she passed me.

"Later." I said, walking up the stairs to my room. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, a droid, and texted Ino.

_Hey ino-pig. Meet any good prospects today?_

Ino usually spent most of the first day of school checking out boys, and trying to set up her friends. She'd been trying for me for years, but I never found anyone I liked. Her, Tenten, and Hinata were all hung up a boy of their own though. Tenten liked this guy Neji. He was too serious for my liking, but hot nonetheless. Ino liked this total brainiac, Shikamaru. He was nice, and cute and everything, but he's so freakin' lazy. My little Hinata is pretty much in love with Naruto. They would be too cute together, but Naruto is clueless.

_You read my mind, forehead. Met some guy who would totally be a match made in heaven for you. Completely. Totally. I can already see the sparks._

_Oh, I bet. Who are they?_

Ino's definition of a good guy, and my definition, usually differed a little. I know she means well, but she's not exactly a reliable boy source. I pondered this, as I plopped on my bed, and pulled my calculus homework out of my book bag.

_Okay, this guy sasuke, I can so see you and him together. He's new this year, and he's perfect, I tell you, perfect. And this other kid, kiba. Both of them, freakin' sexyyyyy. Sexy I tell you._

Sasuke? Sasuke Uchiha? Oh no.

_Sasuke Uchiha?_

Somehow I didn't think things would work out with Sasuke Uchiha.

_Yeah! You know him already?_

_Kind of. I ran into him and made him drop his books. He calls me klutz._

Ino was never gonna let this go, I knew that. She was going to tease me forever. Why did I even tell her about that?

_Omg! Sakura! You are a klutz! You've made my job so difficult._

_Sorry? Haha, he said not to worry about it. _

After finishing my homework, I called in for the pizza. My absolute favorite, chicken parmesan pizza. I was scared to try it at first, but Naruto got me addicted to the stuff. Then it occurred to me. Did she mean Kiba Inuzuka? Was she serious?

_Well, that means at least he's nice._

_Wait, when you said kiba, did you mean kiba inuzuka?_

I don't have a problem with Kiba, but he is just so obnoxious! He is cute though. I have to admit that.

_Yeah. Well, I know he's a bit obnoxious, but he's cute, and he can be really sweet. You could at least give him a try._

_Well, we'll see what happens. I don't really know if either of them are good for me…_

I knew that might annoy Ino a little bit, but I really wasn't sure on the whole set-up thing to be honest. I took my lap top off my desk and over to my bed, turning it on. I drummed my fingers on the mouse pad waiting for it to start, and then checked my phone when it buzzed again.

_Give them a chance! Please? For me? I want you to be happy, sakura. *puppy dog face*_

_Oh, you know I can't resist the puppy face. Okay. I'll try._

My computer was on, so I logged onto my facebook, and saw I had a friend request. Sasuke Uchiha. I smiled, not quite sure why. The doorbell rang, as I accepted the friend request, and I went down to answer the door. I grabbed the money off the coffee table, and opened the door, to see one of Ino's prospects holding a pizza.

"Oh, hey Kiba. You're a delivery boy now? Didn't you work at Home Depot just last week?" I teased. Kiba was known for getting fired, and switching jobs a lot.

"Eh, it didn't really work out." he said, giving me a sheepish smile.

"I see that." I said giggling. "Well, here's your money."

"And here's your pizza. Gotta say, we don't get many orders for chicken parmesan pizza. You must be a weirdo."

"Hey! Don't knock it! It's good! Wanna try it?" I asked.

"Hmm, I don't know. It's sounds kinda weird."

"Come in and try it!" I demanded. I moved aside for him, and shut the door behind him. I led him to the living room, putting the box down on the coffee table, and pulling out a slice for him. "Try it."

"Alright, alright!" he said, laughing as he took the pizza from me. He looked a little hesitant as he bit the pizza, and then pretended to look disgusted.

"Kiba!" I yelled, smacking his shoulder.

"Okay, okay! It's actually pretty good." he laughed. He ate it quickly, and then headed for the door. "this has been fun, Sakura, but I gotta get back to work. Maybe we can do this again soon." he winked on his way out. I blushed, and closed the door behind him. I took out my phone, where I had a text waiting from Ino.

_Eep! Yay! Thank you sakura-chan!_

_Just saw one of your prospects. I force fed him pizza._

I put a slice of pizza on a plate, and filled a glass with diet coke, to bring to Tsunade. I pushed open the door with my foot, and walked into Tsunade's office.

"Delivery!" I said, smiling broadly as I placed the food on her desk.

"Oh, thanks, Sweetie." she smiled.

"Yup! Text me if you want me to bring you another slice." I said, walking out, and going to the bathroom in my room. I washed the make up off my face, brushed my hair, and changed into cotton shorts, and a tank top. I slipped into my slippers, and went to the living room to enjoy my pizza.

_No way! Which one!_

_Kiba. He is cute, gotta admit._

I sat on my couch with my pizza, and turned on the television. I really wasn't much of a TV person, but I had nothing better to do.

_As I said! Perfect! [: but I gotta go work my shift at the flower shop. I'll see you tomorrow. Tenten is driving us again. Later chickie-pooo._

_Have fun._

I really should text Naruto like I told him I would, but after I finished my pizza, I went for a walk, and left my phone on the coffee table. Sticking a post it note on the pizza box, I pulled a sweatshirt, which I believed to be Naruto's, over my tank top, and walked out the front door.

* * *

><p>I walked with no particular destination in mind, but ended up at the playground down the street from my house. So I laid down on the merry go round, and spun around pointlessly, until I heard the creak of metal, as someone sat down. I craned my head to look in their direction and saw Sasuke sitting on the side opposite of me. Moving my head back to a comfortable position, we sat in silence, until he spoke.<p>

"So I'm behind in calculus. Iruka-Sensei suggested you as a tutor. Could you tutor me?" he asked hesitantly.

"Sure. When do you wanna do it?" I asked. Even if I hated school, there really wasn't a reason I couldn't help Sasuke if he needed help.

"Whenever is good for you." he replied.

"Let's see, it's Wednesday…Friday okay?"

"Friday is great."

"Okay. Where?"

"We can go somewhere after school or something. I'll drive."

"Kay. Hey, what time is it? I left my phone at home."

"8:30." he said, after he pulled out his phone.

"Alright, I'm heading home then. I'll meet you by your car tomorrow." I said, getting up, and walking away.

"Hn." I heard him mumble as I walked away. But I didn't turn around to acknowledge his sound, or say goodbye. I went home, and went to sleep.

* * *

><p>I meant to update sooner, but I've been seriously busy lately. But whatever, review soon please. (:<p> 


	6. Chapter 4

School went by quickly today. Time always moved quickly on Thursdays, until 4 '0 clock; then it moved agonizingly slow.4 '0 clock was when I got to my therapy session. I **hate **therapy.

"How was school today?" my therapist, Temari, asked.

"Fine." I murmured. I looked at the clock, but it was only 4:06. 54 minutes to go.

"Any nightmares lately?"

"…Yeah, a lot." I used to lie about the things she asked me. But then I realized there was really no point. Tsunade was paying for this, so why waste her money?

"Still about your family?"

"I had one about Hinata."

"What happened to Hinata?"

I paused, attempting to gather my thoughts. Poor, little, innocent Hinata. How could anything bad ever happen to her? She was simply too perfect.

"…It was…strange. Hinata is like, completely in love with Naruto-"

"Your best friend Naruto?" Temari interrupted.

"Yeah," I continued, a bit frustrated by the interruption. "But Naruto turned into the horrible, red, fox-like, monster…he attacked her…he…he killed her…" I was stuttering a bit. "But Naruto would never do anything like that…"

"Well, it _was_ just a dream, Sakura…" Temari said in an attempt at a soothing voice. But nothing could soothe me.

"I know that." I said, giving a dark laugh. I glanced at the clock again. 4:26. Not even half over.

"Have you hurt yourself again, Sakura?" Temari asked, trying not to grimace. I didn't look at her. I drew my arms in closer to my body, and pulled my long sleeves over my fingers. "Sakura." she said sternly. "Let me see." she said, softening her voice. I looked at her before hiking my sleeves up to my elbows, revealing angry, red, slash marks across my pale wrists.

"This morning." I said quietly, answering her unasked question. "Please don't tell Tsunade." I begged, "I won't do it again.

"You know I have to." she said somberly. I looked at the clock. 4:49. 11 minutes. Almost there. "Stop looking at the clock." she paused. "I'm going to give you my personal number. If you need to talk, you call me." she said earnestly.

"Okay." I said, looking at my hands. I heard the rustling of paper as she looked for a loose sheet to write her number on. I heard the scratch of her pen on the paper.

"Here's my number." she said, holding out the wrinkled paper. I took it, only then realizing my sleeves were still revealing my arms. I hurriedly pushed them down.

"Thanks." I mumbled. 4:59. "Can I leave now?"

"I guess so. I'll see you next week." she said with a deep sigh, but I was already out the door.

* * *

><p>"Hinata?" I said into my Bluetooth, both hands on the steering wheel.<p>

"Hey, Sakura-Chan." she said in her soft, melodic tone.

"Mall?"

"Sure. Want me to invite Ten-Chan and Ino-Chan?"

"It doesn't matter. Meet you in half an hour."

* * *

><p>I met the girls in the food court by Cinnabon, where Hinata's sweet soul had already bought my a cinnabon.<p>

"Bless your soul, Hina-Chan." I said dramatically as she handed me the cinnabon. "You're truly an angel sent from above."

"Yeah. I know." she replied, smiling.

"Where do you guys wanna go first?" I asked, biting into my little piece of heaven.

"Hmm…how about Deb? I need some new pretty dresses." Ino said, flipping her blonde hair.

"Sounds fine to me." Tenten said.

"Me t-too." Hinata said.

"Gotcha. Let's go," I said through a mouth full of food. "Can I get a drink first?"

"Go for it. We'll wait over here." Ino said, sitting at a table. I walked to the nearest counter, McDonalds, and saw a familiar head of messy, brown, hair.

"Hey, Pink." Kiba said. "so, I ended up buying chicken parmesan pizza yesterday. You've turned me." he accused.

"It's a gift." I bragged with a victorious smirk. "New job?" I stated, more than asked.

"you know it. What can I get ya, Babe?"

"Medium diet coke, please." I answered.

"Got it." he turned around to make my order but continued talking. "Do you wanna hang out tomorrow or something?" Tomorrow? That was when I was tutoring Sasuke.

"I would, but I've got a tutoring session. Saturday okay though?" I asked.

"Yeah. Sure. You getting tutored?" he handed my drink.

"Doing the tutoring. But I gotta go now, my girls are waiting. See you at school tomorrow!" I waved, walking back toward my friends.

"Later, Pink."

* * *

><p>Oh, the dresses. Ino bought 17 dresses. Seven-fucking-teen. And that was just for herself. Anytime we tried on a dress, but didn't get it, she bought it for us. She swore up and down that we'd regret it later and she'd be our saving grace.<p>

Dresses weren't all she bought. The amount of jewelry and shoes she bought deemed to be endless. The girl could shop. It was only 7 by the time I got home, but I was exhausted. I still had all my homework to do, which only took me about 45 minutes. I hadn't even realized I was hungry until after I was done and my stomach growled. It was when I was venturing into the kitchen to get a PB & J when the story really begins. My phone went off. Beep.

_I saw your family yesterday. Sat with your parents for hours._

It wasn't a number I recognized. Even though I thought it was a wrong number, the though of my parents still made my stomach lurch.

_I think you have the wrong number. Sorry._

Done. Over. The end. That's what I thought. I was wrong. Beep.

_No I don't, Sakura-Chan._

_This isn't funny. Who is this?_

I was starting to get scared. Panicky. I wasn't calm. I was terrified. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my-Beep-God.

_Oh, Sakura-Chan. You're so funny. Forgetful little thing. So cute. This will be such a nice story to share with your parents._

"Tsunade-Sama!" I cried, already running down the hallway toward her office. I slipped, falling to my knees before her door. I pushed it open and barged into her office. "Tsunade-Sama!" I gasped. I showed her my phone, and proceeded to wipe my fear induced tears as she took it from me. I was trembling.

"Oh my God…" she mumbled after looking through the messages. Beep. Another one. Judging by the look on her face, I didn't want to read it. She pushed a few buttons on my phone, deleting the messages most likely. She opened the laptop on her desk, and after a few minutes, she handed me back my phone saying: "I blocked the number. If you get any messages from a number you don't know, show me first. Don't read it. Okay?"

"Mhm. Arigatou, Tsunade-Sama." I replied shakily.

"Do you need to see your therapist?" She asked, concern flooding her face.

"No, I'm going to go see Ino if that's alright…" I ended in a whisper.

"Of course, Dear. Try to be home by 10 if you can." she said as I closed the door, muttering an inaudible answer.

I didn't call, but I ran the 6 blocks to Ino's house barefoot, in shorts and an old hoodie of Naruto's. By the time I reached her house, I had tears streaming down my face, and when Ino answered the door, I flung myself into her arms and poured my heart out to her. Her father, Inoichi, ended up calling Tsunade and informing her I'd be spending the night. After telling Ino everything that happened, I fell sleep next to her in the bed, with her stroking my hair, telling me how brave I was, how strong I was, and how everything was going to be okay.

* * *

><p>The next morning, I borrowed some of Ino's clothes, and makeup, consisting of a shirt with a muffin saying "AH MUNNA EAT CHOO!" a pair of purple skinny jeans, and a black pair of converses. My hair was brushed, my makeup was on, it was a new day, and everything was fine. Tenten picked us up, momentarily stopping by my house to get my things, and no one mentioned what happened, even though I was sure they knew. Ino probably told them.<p>

In first period, I took my place next to Tenten, and we were waiting for Kakashi Sensei to show up, when Sasuke walked up to me, looked slightly concerned.

"Haruno-San, are you alright? You, um, you look kinda pale…" he asked. Well, that was a nice way of saying I look like shit.

"I'm fine Uchiha-San, Arigatou." I tried to sound cheerful.

"Alright…um, are we still on for today?" Shit, I'd completely forgotten.

"Good thing you reminded me, I almost forgot. But yes, most definitely."

"Okay. I'll meet you by the front entrance after school. Thanks for doing this."

"No problem. I'll see you then." I replied as he walked back toward his seat.

"What are you doing with Sasuke?" Tenten asked. "Is this part of Ino's master plan?"

"I'm tutoring him in math, Ten-Chan." I said, blushing.

"Sure it's not chemistry?" she teased.

"Tenten!"

"Maybe you could be the protein, and he could be the DNA helicase, and he could unzip your genes." she said, laughing hysterically.

"Ten-Chan quit it!" I said, burying my face in my book.

"No, Ten-Chan, continue. I would love to hear more of your studying, I mean, that is what you're doing, correct?" said a familiar voice, I froze, and proceeded to look over my shoulder.

"O-of course, Kakashi Sensei!" Tenten replied, a blush spreading across her face.

He paused, smirking through his mask. "Let's stick to literature, ladies." And he began his lecture.


	7. Chapter 5

"Haruno-San." I heard a voice say behind me. I whirled around and closed my book.

"Hello, Uchiha-San." I said cheerfully. "Ready to leave?" I asked.

"Hn. Let's go." He said, walking toward his car, expecting me to follow. So I followed closely behind him as we waded through the sea of students prepared for the weekend. "We're just gonna go to my house if that's okay with you."

"That's fine." I said in a solemn tone. We'd finally reached his car, which turned out to be a freakin' limo. He had a fucking driver. He opened the door for me and I thanked him and got in the car. "Uchiha-San, if your family has enough money for a limo, why don't you hire a professional tutor?"

"I don't…I don't want my family to know I'm struggling. A lot is expected of me." he replied, not meeting my eyes. "So if we run into anyone at my house, can you just pretend to be my friend, and not my tutor?" his eyes were pleading as he finally looked at me. This was actually important to him. To hide his failure from his family.

"O-of course, Uchiha-San." I couldn't deny him when he looked so desperate.

Let me just say, the Uchiha Estate is HUGE. Like, I could fit 10 of my estates in there. And I live with the fucking Hokage. He led me straight to his room, avoiding anyone who crossed our path. We passed a man who looked a lot like Sasuke. He had hair in a ponytail, and the same ebony eyes as Sasuke. He waved at me, I almost waved back, but Sasuke pulled me through a door, and closed it behind us.

"Let's get started." Sasuke said, sitting on his bed, and pulling out his notes and textbook.

"Of course. What do you need help with?"

He needed help with everything. The boy knows NOTHING about math. Seriously, how did he get this far?

"Maybe I should come back next week and help you again." I suggested.

"That would actually be great." he sighed. "Thanks." he paused, leading me down the hallway to the front door. "You can, um, call me Sasuke-Kun if you want to."

"Okay." I smiled. "Then you can call me Sakura-Chan."

"Alright." We'd reached the door where Tenten was outside with her car. (I'd called her to come pick me up.)

"Bye, Sasuke-Kun."

"Bye, Sakura-Chan." I liked the way he said it.

"How'd it go?" Ino asked me on the phone later.

"The boy knows nothing about math."

"Well, whatever, I mean were there any sparks?"

"No sparks. But he said I could call him Sasuke-Kun."

"Awwwe! There will be sparks! Eventually! I swear it!"

"Right. What did you get for number three on the anatomy homework?" I inquired in an attempt to change the subject. I had already finished the homework, and it seems Ino knew that.

"You already finished your homework, Forehead." she stated. "We should have a sleepover tomorrow night. We haven't had one an awhile. You, me, Hina-chan, and Ten-Chan. We could go to an amusement park and then watch some bad movies."

"That'd be great. But I told Kiba I'd hang out with him tomorrow.

"So invite him. I'll invite Shikamaru, and Neji, and Naruto-Kun can come too."

"I don't have Kiba's number. But I think Hina-chan does. Tell her to text him. I'll tell Naruto-Kun."

"Great, I just texted Hinata and Tenten. I told Tenten I'd pay for her."

Tenten's family doesn't have money like outs do. Hinata comes from the insanely rich Hyuga clan, Ino's family has a huge chain of flower shops, and while I have a huge inheritance I'm not allowed to touch, having the Hokage as a guardian kept me pretty well off.

"They can both go, and Hina-Chan texted Kiba."

"Alright, Naruto said he's up for it, but I gotta go. Promised I'd go to his house tonight. See you tomorrow."

"Kay, pick you up at 10."

"Bye."

I was still in the clothes I put on at Ino's, but the shirt was still a little too small in the boobage area, so I changed to a Konoha Ninja Academy t-shirt, and a pair of sweats, before slipping into some sneakers and walking the literally 2 minute walk to Naruto's house.

Naruto's family died when he was a baby, so he lived with a man named Jiraiya-Sama, who was actually one of our teachers. The man thinks I'm the best thing since sliced bread.

"Hi, Jiraiya-Sama!" I greeted him, letting myself into the house.

"Oh, hello, Sakura-Chan! Naruto-Kun is training out back." Good thing I'd changed into sweats.

"Naruto-Kun!" I yelled, causing him to fall over.

"Sakura-Chan! Wanna spar with me for a bit? Then we can go get some ramen!" he said, his eyes shining. Naruto took his training seriously. He was going to be Hokage some day I'll have you know.

"Kay!" I started stretching my arms.

"Ready?"

"Ready." and he lunged at me. I ducked, and swung my leg out, kicking his knees, his knees gave, but he quickly gained his footing back, and threw a punch at me. I didn't dodge quickly enough and he hit my shoulder. I grabbed his shoulders, and flipped myself over him, landing both my feet on this back, pushing him to the ground.

"You've gotten better, Sakura-Chan." he complimented, punching my stomach.

"Thanks, I think. So have you." I gasped. I steadied myself, and lunged forward again, punching him, and then kicking his side. He was down and I thought I'd beat him for once, when his shadow clone disappeared, and the real Naruto pinned me to the ground. "Shit, Naruto-Kun."

"Don't worry, Sakura-Chan." he smiled broadly, "you'll get there." he got up, and helped me up. "Let's go to Ichiraku's. I'll buy." he hung his arm loosely around my shoulders, and began leading me toward the door when Jiraiya stopped him.

"Why don't you kids clean up a little first. You're covered in dirt."

"Oi, fine Pervy Sage. C'mon, Sakura-Chan!" he shouted, leading me to the bathroom. He was cleaning my face with a paper towel when I got a text. Beep.

I didn't know the number. No. No. No. _No._

"Jiraiya-Sama!" I shrieked, running, leaving behind a very confused Naruto. "Jiraiya-Sama!" I hurriedly explained what happened, choking back sobs.

"Calm down, Sakura-Chan. Let me see." He took the phone, and smiled when he read the message. It's just Kiba-Kun. You're okay." he said in a soothing voice. "Go ahead and have some ramen with Naruto." he gave me back my phone, and I took a cleansing breath.

"Arigatou. Jiraiya-Sama." I replied quietly. "Gomen."

"Do you need me to call Tsunade?"

"No. It's okay."

Hey Pinky-Chan. It's Kiba.

Hello, Kiba-Kun. (:

Naruto grabbed my hand. And pulled me close to him to look at him. His eyes held concern, as he silently asked me if I was okay. I took the wet washcloth off the sink, and wiped the remaining dirt off his face, smiling at him. He smiled back and led me out the door.

"Isn't this great, Sakura-Chan? We haven't done anything together like this in forever!" Naruto said through a mouth full of noodles.

"Yes, Naruto-Kun. It really is. I wish Sai-Kun could be here with us." Sai was on the team with us, but he'd gotten accepted to an art school in America.

"Yeah, I think he's coming home next vacation though." Naruto agreed.

"Yeah, that's what he said in the last email I got from him."

"Me too." I smiled at Naruto, recalling out days as Team 7 under Kakashi-Sensei. Sai had taken awhile to warm up to, but now I missed him terribly. After finishing our meal Naruto walked me home, we walked hand in hand with the street lights as out guide.

"I do miss Sai; but it's nice with just you and me Sakura-Chan." Naruto spoke softly. Uh-oh.

"Yeah, I suppose it is."

"Sakura-Chan, you know I like you. How come you never give me a chance?

"You know I don't feel that way for you."

"But you could if you try." he ripped his hand from mine, and turned to face me. "You never give anyone a chance. Start with me. Please."

"I couldn't do that to-" I stopped.

"Who?"

"She'd kill me if I told you. Unless you really liked her back."

"Is it Hinata-Chan?" his eyes shone with hope. "Never mind. I couldn't do that to her. Her family would never accept it."

"She wouldn't care. She loves you. She has forever."

"I couldn't do that to her."

"Do what? Make her happy? You could make her happy. She could make you 10 times happier than I ever could. _Go for it._"

He looked at me. And then he smiled.

"I will."

Naruto and Hinata are the cutest couple in existence. I swear, they are beyond adorable. And absolutely made for each other. Hinata had been so happy when she told us, and Naruto's face lit up every time he saw her. When we met up at the amusement park parking lot the next morning, Hinata was actually the one to hold Naruto's hand. It was so cute! But Ino and Shikamaru, and Tenten and Neji still needed a little help.

"This your doing, Pinky?" Kiba said from behind me.

"He just needed a little nudge in the right direction." I replied happily.

"Well, good thing you nudged, they look so happy." he looked over at them. "Hinata's like a little sister to me y'know? I want her to be happy."

"I know the feeling." I said, looking with him.

"Well," Kiba started, slinging his arm around my shoulders. "Let's get this show on the road."


End file.
